Quiche-- oo la la!

Karen, I promise my blogging spurt will end soon! This morning, while looking through my iphoto library, I found these pictures I had taken of a quiche that I made a few times. The recipe is one I saw on Martha Stewart.  You can find it here. It's actually the recipe from the famous Tartine bakery in San Fransisco.  The important thing is that it is delicious and super easy.  Quiche is popular with adults and kiddos alike.  You can vary the flavors and add-ins quite easily.  The recipe calls for creme fraiche, but you can use sour cream if you can't find it. It also calls for thyme, and I have made it that way, but I think dried basil would also be great.

This quiche has a decadent texture and freezes beautifully.  I let it cool, cut it in slices and freeze them individually.  In the morning, I take a slice of quiche out of the freezer and bring it to work where I place it in the fridge.  By the time I am ready to have lunch, it is still pretty frozen, but after a couple of minutes in the microwave, it is perfect. The crust is still flaky, the filling is tender and creamy.  It is perfect.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons AP flour

1 pie crust (store bought or whatever recipe you like. I like this one.)

10 large eggs

2 cups creme fraiche

2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme (or basil, or...)

Optional:

Crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, sauteed veggies, olives, etc.

Directions:

Blind bake the pie crust in a 9 inch pie plate or tart pan.  To do this, press the pie crust into the pie plate or tart pan you want to use. Lay a piece of parchment over the crust and fill it with uncooked rice or beans (or pie weights if you have them).  Bake the crust at 375 for 25 minutes.

Cool the crust completely while you mix the filling.  

Stir the flour together with one egg.  Add the remaining 9 eggs and the rest of the filling ingredients.  If you are going to use bacon, cheese, etc, don't stir it into the eggs.  Instead, sprinkle those toppings on the bottom of the crust, then pour the egg mixture into the crust.

Bake the quiche at 375 for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 325 and bake for about 35 more minutes-- until the filling is no longer liquid.  

Sometimes I have too much egg mixture to fit in the quiche.  If that happens to you, use some pie crust scraps to make smaller quiches in custard cups.  It's a real cook's treat!